Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports wagering in India

Published

5 February 2016

Share

close panel

Share page

Copy link

About sharing

By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business reporter

It is the last over of the cricket match, with India needing 17 go to win against Australia.

In his two-bedroom home situated in central Mumbai, a middle-aged man is viewing the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his mobile phone glued to his right hand.

He has made more than 10 employ the last thirty minutes - not to go over the match however to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes earlier his cash was on Australia, and now as the Indian batsman prepares to face the last over he's changed his mind.

"I think India is winning, make the modification," he tells his bookmaker on the phone.

And a couple of minutes later his forecast becomes a reality, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

"I have made $200 today," he states with a childlike glee.

For more than 3 decades he's been banking on cricket matches. We can't reveal his name as what he's doing is illegal in India.

Aside from horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not permitted in India. Despite that, unlawful sports betting syndicates grow in the nation.

'Black cash'

According to the Doha-based International Centre for sports betting Security, India's prohibited sports betting market deserves some $150bn a year. And much of that sports betting cash is directed towards cricket.

Without any legal opportunity, punters place bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can wager on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest private run scorer.

Most of these transactions include so-called "black money", which is money not stated to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any sort of sports betting in India, however unlike in the US which has a law restricting web gaming, there is nothing similar here.

And overseas sports betting business are utilizing this loophole to lure Indians. Even though there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot individuals have signed up accounts with offshore firms.

"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is uncertain for online gaming," states Mumbai- based attorney HP Ranina.

But in spite of this, it is "offline sports betting", done through phone calls which dominate the marketplace.

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has grown after a panel appointed by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, stating it would help secure down on corruption in the nation's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend changes in the functioning of India's cricket regulative body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after the 2013 Indian Premier League sports betting scandal emerged.

Two franchises have been banned for 2 years after some gamers and group officials were found guilty of repairing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.

The panel also argues that legalised sports betting will generate tax earnings for the exchequer that might total up to $2bn a year.

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a move in the best instructions.

"I do not mind paying some money out my earnings, as long as I can bet publicly," states our cricket bettor.

It would also open a big business opportunity for licensed bookies and global online sports betting business to establish operations in India.

And it would assist limit match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by assisting make deals associated with sports betting more transparent.

"If you work alongside sports betting business, you will have an extremely effective approach of stamping out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.

But many also believe, that the taxes levied on the bettor and the bookie will have to be reasonable to make it attractive enough for them to bet lawfully.

However, there are limitations.

"Definitely there will be unlawful sports betting due to the fact that (some) people would not wish to leave an audit trail by going into the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He includes that people who use unaccounted cash to put huge bets will never ever gamble legally.

Approval concern

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to produce a brand-new law, and politically this will be a difficult concept to offer.

"Despite the fact that many individuals are included in some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable concern for numerous," says our unnamed punter.

And provided that India has a federal structural - each state will need to also pass a separate law to legalise sports betting gambling in their territory.

"The procedure is so long and difficult that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this coming true anytime soon."

Yet with the idea having actually been backed by a main panel for the very first time, a minimum of a dispute has actually ignited around a subject - which until now was thought about a taboo.